Are you more cat or dog?

You Are: 60% Dog, 40% Cat

You are a nice blend of cat and dog. You're playful but not too needy. And you're friendly but careful. And while you have your moody moments, you're too happy to stay upset for long.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

I like dogs more than cats, so I suppose its logical I'm more like them. Then again...why am I getting so into these quizzes?

Something I found on YouTube...

I have recently discovered the delights of that genius website that is YouTube. While browsing the site, I came across this funny little video that fans of Keane and in particular, their lovely drummer Richard, will enjoy. Its about a minute long but it might still take a few minutes to download if, like me, you still have the old bog standard dial up connection, but I think you'll find its worth the wait. Incidentally, there are also some other Keane related vids on there as well if you're interested. In fact, there's videos related to just about every band or artist on there (or at least from everyone I'm into), as well as stuff ranging from the weird, to the wonderful, to the downright hilarious. I haven't fully explored it yet, but I intend to soon.

YouTube - Richard Hughes, IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE ON FIRE?

(I forgot to mention that the video also has "Graffiti" from that other fine band Maximo Park as its soundtrack. Another reason to check it out, in my opinion!)

Love and marriage..

You know you're getting old when people younger than you are getting married. Today, I read on Sky News Active that Avril Lavigne had got married to that bloke out of Sum 41. Typically, the story had the headline: "Avril weds her Sk8er Boi". She is about four years younger than me.

Personally, I've never understood why anyone under the age of 25 would want to get married. Maybe its just me but it seems such a big decision to make at that point in your life. You'd think that they'd want to enjoy their life a bit before they make such a commitment. They are in the first throes of adulthood, after all.

Then again, maybe my opinion comes out of the fact that that I haven't necessarily been lucky on the love front in recent years. Many men I've encountered around here are either too young for me, too old, too stupid or too unavailable. The last person I had feelings for came and went too quickly-it was definitely a case of unrequited love-and I don't think it would have worked out anyway. It never used to bother me, but now I do have times when I fear that I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life. I feel like the little puppy in the pet shop window;the one that's not as cute as the others, who's left behind while his brothers and sisters are picked up and taken home. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough. Maybe I'm spending too much time looking at famous people I have a thing for. Maybe trying too hard even...

Sorry, but the author seems to be slipping into 'SLS' (Sad Lonely Singleton) mode at the moment. Normal service will resume just as soon as she has finished slamming her head against the computer desk.

...Where was I? Oh, yeah, so I don't particularly get why people would want to tie the knot so young. However, that said, I wish those who choose to make that commitment the best of luck.

Trying to see the back of it.

So the X-Ray results showed I had no slipped discs, although there was a little bit of what they termed early "degenerative" change in my lower back. Nothing serious, although you wouldn't think so given the terminology used. The way it was worded made me think I was going to end up with a walking stick by the time I'm 40, until my mum said it was nothing to worry about. Why do doctors have to use such dramatic language?

Anyway, I was told that I should keep taking the painkillers when required and keep active. Cue me spending a good deal of last night online searching for exercises that would help my back. I did actually find a lot of useful stuff. The thing now is to try to muster the energy to do some of them every day. The moment I get up in the morning I'm more interested in eating than exercising; and when I'm not interested in eating I'm interested in catching more Z's. But if I'm going to get better, I'm going to have to do it, whether I'm in the mood or not.

Who knows, I might enjoy it...

A little tweak made to the address

Just to inform you, there is now a minor change to the url for this blog. The address is now http://arandomtitle.blogspot.com. The hyphens have been dropped, so entering the address is now a little bit easier!

The burning question...

Should I get a Myspace profile?

This is the big question I've been thinking about over the last couple of days. I've been browsing it a lot over the last week or so, mostly visiting the pages of the bands I like. But recently, I've been wondering whether or not to join this online community of people.

There are a number of advantages to getting a Myspace profile. You can use it to build up your network of friends. Its a great way of getting the stuff you do out there and as someone with aspirations to be a writer, it would be a good place to put some of my work on there (although this isn't a bad place to do it, either). People have become famous as a result of getting noticed on there, musicians in particular (as I write, another product of myspace, Lily Allen, has got to number one with her debut single).

However, for all the great things myspace has, there are also a few downsides in my point of view. For one, virtually everyone and his mother has a profile on there now, including those who want to spam your page up with adverts for free ringtones and the like. Then there's the fact that Myspace is now part of the empire of a certain Mr Rupert Murdoch. It goes without saying that Mr Murdoch is not my favourite person in the world, not least because I feel he has too much influence on the media. That alone makes me want to not join it.

Even if I do join, I won't leave this blog behind, mainly because I still love posting on here. In fact, I'd say I love doing it more now than I did when I first started this blog back in September. I'd like to think I could run them both together and keep them going without any problems. It would give me more to do, that's for sure.

So, should I or should I not join it?

My ideal pet

Your Ideal Pet is a Big Dog

You're both energetic, affectionate, and a bit goofy. And neither of you seem to mind very slobbery kisses!

What's Your Ideal Pet?

"Mum? Dad? Can we get a dog? Please?"

The Pains of Summer

The last few days have led me to the conclusion that I hate summer.

Actually, let me rephrase that. I don't totally hate summer; I only hate it when the weather is as hot as hell and you have to put up with temperatures of the kind that you would find inside an active volcano. When every night, you're struggling to sleep and having to peel off both the duvet and your pyjamas. When the pollen count is so high that not even the strongest antihistamine will stop you from sneezing your head off and seeing everything through itchy, streaming eyes. And when you find that just about every insect within a five mile radius has been snacking on you (I've been bitten five times so far this summer- twice in the last 48 hours).

This seems to be becoming increasingly common as each summer passes. It makes you wonder whether we'll ever see the traditional British summer of old again. There used to be a fair amount of rainy days; now there are heatwaves that seem to go on for eons until we get a massive thunderstorm. Yet the weathermen (and women) go on about the hot weather like its the greatest thing to ever happen to us! I feel like giving them a smack when they talk about impending rain like its some sort of national tragedy. Rain is good! It cleanses the earth; it refreshes us. Without it we would die! Rain's not a tragedy. After a week of none stop high temperatures its the most wonderful thing in the world!

If we keep getting summers like this I don't know how I'll cope.

The aftermath...

Following on from my last entry, I have decided that I will not be throwing out my Portuguese produced England top after all and will instead be keeping it as a souvenir of the event. As with all mementos, I shall be keeping it in a very safe place. In the case of this one, I will be keeping it at the back of the wardrobe.

I have also decided which country I will be supporting now that England are out of the World Cup. A decision which was very easy to make after the result of the other quarter final that took place yesterday.

I'll give you a clue...

ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

England v Portugal: an apology

Following England's defeat in the World Cup quarter final against Portugal, I feel I must apologise to my fellow England supporters, as I think that I may be responsible for their defeat in some way.

About a month before the competition started, I bought an England t-shirt from Next. I've worn this t-shirt during every England match in this competition. I even wore it during the friendly matches England played before the World Cup. My dad remarked that my wearing the said T-shirt was a lucky omen, seeing as England managed to get through even though they weren't exactly playing at their best. I almost believed that it was lucky, thinking that if I wore it for every match that England played, we would get through to the final and win the cup for the first time in 40 years.

Alas, mine and the nation's hopes were dashed this evening during the penalty shoot out. Another loss on penalties, another defeat at the hands of Phil Scolari. Another match of me shouting at the TV screen, telling John Motson and Mark Lawrenson to shut up with their inane prattle. Honestly, were they deliberately trying to tempt fate with their talk of past penalty shoot outs and what's happened in recent encounters with Scolari and his men?

After the match was over, I changed my top. I didn't feel it was worth keeping the England one on for much longer. As I took it off, I noticed the writing on the tag and thus the reason why I feel like I'm to blame for our cup run coming to an end.

It said "Made in Portugal".

Upon reading this, I did what any person in my situation would do.

I hurled it across the room and let out a heady stream of swear words.